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One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Passwords 6.0 LTS - Evaluation Guide

Exercise 2: Testing time restrictions

Now that you have seen the end-to-end password release process from request to approval to review, let's demonstrate how the entitlement and policy time restrictions affect a password request.

An entitlement's time restrictions enforce when Safeguard for Privileged Passwords uses a policy; a policy's time restrictions enforce when a user can access the account passwords. If the entitlement and the policy both have time restrictions, the user can only check out the password for the overlapping time frame.

Time restrictions control when the entitlement or policy is in effect relative to a user's time zone. Although Safeguard for Privileged Passwords Appliances run on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the user's time zone enforces the time restrictions set in the entitlement or policy. This means that if the appliance and the user are in different time zones, Safeguard for Privileged Passwords enforces the policy in the user's time zone set in his account profile.

Test: Entitlement time restrictions

  1. In the desktop client, as PolicyAdmin, navigate to Entitlements.
  2. Navigate to the General tab of the Linux Password Requests entitlement.
  3. Set the entitlement Time Restrictions to allow users to access passwords only during their lunch hour Monday through Friday.

  4. As Joe, assuming that it is currently not during your lunch hour, request a password for a Linux account, for a duration of five minutes.

    • Did Safeguard for Privileged Passwords allow you to check out this password? The request dialog disables the Request Immediately option. The request time will automatically be set for the next unrestricted time frame that allows the account password to be requested.
  5. Cancel the request (or return to your Home page).

Test: Entitlement expiration

  1. As PolicyAdmin, set the Time Restrictions for the Linux Password Requests role to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
  2. While you are in Time Restrictions, set this entitlement to expire today in 1 minute from now.
  3. Wait for the entitlement to expire.

    • Did you see Safeguard for Privileged Passwords's notification?

      Note: If you do not see the notification refresh your screen.

  4. As Joe, request a password for a Linux account.
    • Notice that the account is not available to check out. Safeguard for Privileged Passwords does not allow you to checkout accounts associated with expired entitlements.
  5. As PolicyAdmin, remove the expiration time from the Time Restrictions, but leave the entitlement Time Restrictions enforced.
  6. As Joe, request a password for the same Linux account.
    • Observe that you are now allowed to request passwords for the Linux Password Requests accounts.
  7. Cancel the request (or return to your Home page).

Test: Policy time restrictions

  1. As PolicyAdmin, set the policy Time Restrictions for the Weekday Maintenance Policy to allow users to access passwords 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
  2. As Joe, request a password for the Windows account for Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
    • This request was denied because the Weekday Maintenance Policy does not allow you to check out accounts on Sunday.
  3. Cancel the request (or return to your Home page).

Exercise 3: Testing priorities

To determine which policy to use for a password release, Safeguard for Privileged Passwords considers both entitlement and policy priorities. Safeguard for Privileged Passwords first considers the entitlement priority, then the priorities of policies within that entitlement.

Test: Entitlement priorities

To test entitlement priorities, an account must be governed by two different entitlements.

  1. In the desktop client, as PolicyAdmin, navigate to Entitlements.
  2. Verify that the Linux Password Requests entitlement is priority #1.

    Note:Safeguard for Privileged Passwords displays the priority number under the entitlement name.

  3. In Account Groups, add the Windows account to the Linux Servers Accounts group.
  4. As Joe, request a password for the Windows account, for Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
    • Are Reasons and a Comment required? If so, then you know that Safeguard for Privileged Passwords used the entitlement; the Windows Password Requests entitlement does not require Reasons or Comments.
    • Did the Time Restriction prevent you from checking out this password? The Linux Password Requests entitlement only allows you to checkout passwords Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  5. Cancel the request.
  6. As PolicyAdmin, change the priority of these entitlements, making the Windows Password Requests priority #1, and run through this test again to see if you get different results.
    • Are Reasons and a Comment required? If not, then you know that Safeguard for Privileged Passwords used the Windows Password Requests entitlement as it does not require Reasons or Comments.
    • Did the Time Restriction prevent you from checking out this password? The Weekday Maintenance Policy only allows you to checkout passwords Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  7. Before you leave this test, change the priority back and remove the Windows account from the Linux Servers Accounts group.

Test: Policy priorities

To test policy priorities, an account must be in the scope of two policies within the same entitlement.

  1. Log in as PolicyAdmin and navigate to Administrative Tools.
  2. In Entitlements, add this new policy to the Windows Password Requests entitlement:

    General tab:

    • Policy Name: Sunday Maintenance Policy.
    • Description: The rules that define the request, approval, and review of password requests for the Windows Server Accounts on Sundays.
    • Access Type: Password Release

    Scope tab:

    • Windows Server Accounts group

    Requester tab:

    • Select all Reasons.
    • Require a Reason.
    • Require a Comment.
    • Select the Allow Requester to Change Duration option.

    Approver tab:

    • Require one person to approve a password request, then select the Abe account.

    Reviewer tab:

    • Require one person to review a past password release, then select the Ralph account.

    Access Config tab:

    • Ensure access type is Password Release
    • Select the Change password after Check-in check box.

    Time Restrictions tab:

    • Allow users to checkout passwords only on Sunday.

    Emergency tab:

    • Enable Emergency Access.
  3. Verify that the Weekday Maintenance Policy is priority #1.
  4. As Joe, request a password for the Windows account, for Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

    • Are you required to add a Reason for your password request?

      If not, then you know Safeguard for Privileged Passwords used the Weekday Maintenance Policy which does not have Reasons or Comments enabled.

    • Did the Time Restrictions prevent you from checking out this password?

      The Weekday Maintenance Policy does not permit you to request a password on Sunday.

  5. Cancel the request.
  6. As PolicyAdmin, change the priority of these policies, making the Sunday Maintenance Policy priority #1, and run through this test again to see if you get different results.

    • Are you required to add a Reason for your password request?

      If so, then you know Safeguard for Privileged Passwords used the Sunday Maintenance Policy; the Weekday Maintenance Policy does not have Reasons or Comments enabled.

    • Did the Time Restrictions prevent you from checking out this password?

      The Sunday Maintenance Policy permits you to request a password on Sunday.

  7. Before you leave this test, change the policy priority back.
  8. Cancel the request and log out.

Auditing exercises

Now that you have performed some password request activities, you can audit the transaction data.

The appliance records all activities performed within Safeguard for Privileged Passwords. Any administrator has access to the audit log information; however, your administrator permission set determines what audit data you can access.

Safeguard for Privileged Passwords provides several ways to audit transaction activity:

  • Password Archive: Where you access a previous password for an account for a specific date.
  • Check and Change Log: Where you view an account's password validation and reset history.
  • History: Where you view the details of each operation that has affected the selected item.
  • Activity Center: Where you can search for and review any activity for a specific time frame.
  • Workflow: Where you can audit the transactions performed as part of the workflow process from request to approval to review for a specific access request.
  • Reports: Where you can view and export entitlement reports that show you which assets and accounts a selected user is authorized to access.

The exercises in this section demonstrate Safeguard for Privileged Passwords's auditing capabilities. But before we start, let's create some password check and change activity.

These exercises will guide you through a step-by-step evaluation of the Safeguard for Privileged Passwords auditing features.

Exercise 1: Creating audit data

By following these steps, you will add some password check and change history to Safeguard for Privileged Passwords's audit log and you will learn how to manually verify and reset account passwords.

To perform password check and change activity

  1. Log in as AssetAdmin and navigate to Administrative Tools.
  2. In Accounts, select an account.
  3. Open the Account Security menu and notice the options: Check Password, Change Password, and Set Password using the Manual Password option.

    Note: These same options are available from an account's context menu.

  4. Check the password for the account.

    Note: The Tasks pane opens when you start a task. You can re-size your desktop client console so that the Tasks pane is not covering the Administrative Tools.

    The "Check" option verifies the account password is synchronized with the Safeguard for Privileged Passwords database; this action should succeed.

    TIP: If Check Password fails, run Check Asset from the context menu of the asset to ensure that Safeguard for Privileged Passwords can communicate with it. Then retry the Check Password option on the account.

  5. Set the password for the account to Mypass01 using the Manual Password option.

    The Manual Password option manually sets the account password in the Safeguard for Privileged Passwords database; not on the appliance; so now they are not in sync.

  6. Check the password for the account.

    The Check option should fail because the account password is not in sync with the Safeguard for Privileged Passwords database.

  7. Change the password for the account.

    The Change option creates a new account password and synchronizes it on the Safeguard for Privileged Passwords database.

  8. Check the password for the account again.

    This task should now be successful.

Stay logged in as the AssetAdmin for the next exercise.

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